Wake-Up Poem by Michael Pruchnicki

Platoon sergeant woke me-
'You're going on next chopper out!
Your tour in shitland is over! '

I said it didn't really matter,
but I saddled up and rode shotgun
once more into a free fire zone.

I can only imagine what the folks
at home thought when they got
the news that their darling boy
went down in flames near Khe Sahn
on the day his tour ended.

But I suspect they always
knew in their heart of hearts
that I craved death more than I did
a life spent grubbing for wages.

Don't mourn for me-
I died as I lived.